Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

The Loasaceae or Blazingstar Family

The Loasaceae or Blazingstar Family is a small to medium family whose species consist primarily of forbs/herbs and shrubs and small trees. This family is native mostly to the tropical Americas and Africa. Loasaceae is in the order Cornales.

This family has species with stinging hairs, however the flowers are often showy, unique in red, orange, yellow and white.

World-wide, the largest genera include the genus Nasa with 95 species and Mentzelia with 88 species. In North America there are 73 species and 73 accepted taxa overall for Mentzelia.

In North America the Loasaceae family has 4 genera and 116 accepted taxa overall. World wide, The Plant List includes 21 genera with 314 accepted species. All data is approximate and subject to taxonomic changes.

References: , updated 04/14/2017
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database – ITIS search
https://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=Loasaceae&display=31
The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 11/04/2105).
http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Loasaceae/
http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Loasaceae/Nasa/
http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Loasaceae/Mentzelia/ http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Loasaceae/